The Snowflake That Lived On
by TransientFireworks
Summary: Just one night and they were changed. Just one night and everything would blow away with the wind. [Jackunzel One-Shot]


**I actually uploaded this one-shot on my Wattpad account as well as my Tumblr and thought, what the heck, lets put it here as well. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or Tangled. **

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><p>It was late into the night. September 6, 1940. The girl had spotted something just outside her balcony. It fleeted towards her window, then ran away with the wind. Normally, Rapunzel would have left it alone, assuming it was nothing more than a few ashes that had strayed away from the battlegrounds. But its color had not blended with the black night. In fact, it stood out like a dove amongst a gather of ravens.<p>

A snowflake.

Rapunzel gasped, the book she currently held dropped onto her bed where it would be forgotten.

She unlatched her windows and climbed onto her balcony. Her eyes scanned the streets, thankful for once of the circumstances with which her country was in, just for the fact that the city was vacant during this time of day. The lights were out, blanketing her home in complete darkness.

But despite the obscured scene, Rapunzel's eyes still caught sight of that little flake as it swayed and circled towards the ground in a simple dance. Her eyes adjusted enough to see its final moment before it melted with the pavement. A street away, a boy stood just where the snowflake had gone. He had a strange hood pulled over his head, shoulders hunched as though burdening a heavy weight on his neck.

That wasn't what drew Rapunzel towards him. No, it was his feet.

_What a peculiar fellow_, she mused. The air held the promise of winter, so why was he out in nothing but a cloak?

As if hearing her thoughts, the boy glanced up, catching her stare. With a start, Rapunzel crouched down, hidden behind the thick wooden railing. She held her breath, counting two minutes in her head before peaking out.

Rapunzel felt her spirits drop. The boy was gone. But she shook those thoughts, patting away imaginary dirt off her skirt. Her brown hair was clicked back in curls, but still managed to whip furiously as a sudden breeze picked up.

All was quiet in London once the wind died down. Rapunzel sighed, resting a hand to her heart. She reminded herself to calm down. That the boy had just left in the time she was hiding. Despite the reassurance her mind provided her, she could not help but think of the stories she'd heard as a girl of ghosts. Had that boy been an apparition? Where had that snowflake been born? Was winter coming early this year?

The questions raced, and Rapunzel ignored them, deciding to just go back to her book. But she turned, and was quickly met with the curious eyes of the very boy that had been down the street only a minute ago.

"You…you can see me?" he stammered.

Rapunzel backed away, fear racing with her pulse. "H-How did you get into my room?"

The boy didn't seem to find anything strange with his presence in her home. He repeated his question, "Can you see me? Am I dreaming?"

"Are _you_ dreaming?" she said incredulously. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that? Forgive me if I'm rude but how did you get up here?"

His face flushed like a radiator beneath his ghostly-white skin. His eyes, the most piercing shade of blue she had ever seen, averted to the floor, as though witnessing a women undressing.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized, voice soft and smooth like rich velvet. "I just couldn't believe when our eyes met and acted on impulse." He gestured around, arms up, smirk adoring his lovely face. "As for how I came to be here. Well, I flew."

"You…flew?" Rapunzel laughed, the very notion silly to her. "Read a few too many fairy tales now, have you?"

His smile glittered and lit up his face like freshly fallen snow. She found herself awestruck. "Don't believe me then?" he teased like the devil.

Rapunzel crossed her arms, grinning and finding herself having fun. "Well, how about a demonstration then?"

The boy shrugged and didn't hesitate to take off into a run towards the railing. Rapunzel put a hand to her mouth, horrible images of his body plastered across the ground at the sight of him jumping right off the edge. She reached a hand out, knowing full well that she could not catch him in time.

But the strange wind started again and the boy shot up like a bullet, touching her chin tenderly for the split second he and she were facing each other. He was then in the sky. Rapunzel had to try her best to keep up as he swayed and twisted and spun and flipped through the clouds. She found herself laughing like a child. It seemed as though the boy was putting on a show for her and Rapunzel waved her arms in the air, beckoning him to land.

He came to a gentle stop beside her, taking a seat on the edge of her balcony.

Rapunzel gestured wildly with her hands, unable to contain her joy and excitement. "That was the most incredible thing I've ever seen!" she said truthfully.

He seemed to find her reaction amusing. "What's you name?" he wondered.

"Rapunzel."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

She smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "My mother picked it. May I ask yours?"

"Jack," Jack said.

"Jack," she repeated, finding it rolling off her tongue sweetly.

"Rapunzel," he grinned, enjoying the way her name rolled off his tongue. "May _I_ ask what you were doing out of your room before? After all, everyone else seems to be asleep inside their homes."

"London is quiet so early, isn't it?" she said, her face growing sad. "It's the war. Everyone is meant to go to bed once the sun sets. In case…well, something were to happen. Then we'd all be safe in our homes." Rapunzel and Jack sat in silence for a while. She felt comfort in his presence. Like the angel statue that sat protecting her by her bedside. Maybe Jack was an angel himself. "Where is your home?" she asked.

His body went rigid, his silvery hair that blended with the moon shielding whatever expression clouded his face.

"Don't you have a home?" Rapunzel said, wondering where he had come from.

"I don't know," Jack replied, sharing her confusion. "I woke up in a lake long ago. It was winter, and snow covered the ground. The water was freezing, but I didn't feel it. In fact, the cold was warm against my skin, like it was the very blood that ran along my veins. The only memory I contained was my name; Jack."

"How did you know that was your name?"

"The moon told me."

"Does the moon speak to you often?"

"Not since that day."

A light breeze tickled Rapunzel's cheek. Without hesitation, she touched a hand to Jack's cheek. Just as the lake he described, his skin was ice. It chilled her hand, but she held it still, waiting.

Finally, Jack breathed and leaned into her hand. He reminded her of a child, taking comfort in the touch of his mothers love.

"You may speak to me," she said. "If you wish that is."

His eyes were wide with hope. She came to the conclusion that the blue was just like the ice in his touch. Cold, but still warm.

Jack smiled and twirled his hand in a peculiar motion. Then, a snowflake was born, where it floated around Rapunzel's head before exploding in a light shower of glitter. She laughed.

"May I see you tomorrow?" he asked her, grasping her hands in both of his.

She nodded eagerly. "That would make me happy. Would you…make more snowflakes for me tomorrow?"

"Of course."

They bid each other goodbye, happiness swelling their hearts. Rapunzel went to sleep that night with dreams of flying. She dreamt of soaring into heaven with Jack, holding hands, soul mates from the moment they locked eyes.

Rapunzel did, in fact, go to heaven that night.

The next day, September 7, 1940, _The Blitz _struck. Taking many victims in its cruel hands to the afterlife. Rapunzel, so young, as well.

Jack wandered aimlessly through the desolate city that was once London. Dreaming every night of a happy life with a girl that was not to be.


End file.
